A boy waves an upside-down American flag in a protest outside a San Francisco Tesla dealership.
Just two years ago, Tesla was on top of the world, selling the most cars in its history, 1.31 million electric vehicles, fueled by a reduction of its prices. Now, in early 2025, the price of some of Tesla's models is dropping, and the market for pre-owned Teslas is, in the words of Mashable, "cratering." The company's stock price continues to drag as CEO Elon Musk's involvement in the US government as head of DOGE has led to showroom protests and an overseas buyers' backlash.
But all the news about Tesla has not slowed sales for electric vehicles despite indications last year of a plateauing market for EVs. According to Motor Intelligence, 3.2 million hybrid or electric vehicles were sold in 2024, comprising 20% of the auto market, a record in the US. Even though 1.9 million of those were hybrids, sales of EVs were solid, even amid uncertainty about federal credits and all the bad publicity for Tesla.
Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds, an auto online resource company, said the EV industry is in rapid transition.
"(There's) more change happening in the last few months than there has been in like a 10-year period when it comes to EVs and not just Tesla." he told CNET.
A Tesla Cybertruck is seen parked outside a dealership.
Drury says Tesla's lead position in EVs has allowed it to draw customers with incentives on top of tax credits and that even the dump in used-car prices is creating a funnel effect for price-conscious customers new to the EV market, which could benefit the company in the long run.
Drury says there's much more competition in the EV market, with new models and players, EV ranges are improving, and lease deals are becoming more attractive.
"Leasing was damn near three-quarters of all dealership purchases of EVs last year," he said. "With the ranges so much higher, 250, 300 miles, it's a more viable product. Customers are far more willing to give up their existing transportation."
Ironically, Musk's alignment with President Donald Trump's administration may inadvertently open up a significant new customer lane for EVs. BJ Birtwell, the CEO of Electrify Expo, a hands-on convention for the EV curious held in eight US cities, says he's spoken to thousands of potential EV customers and seen a distinct demographic shift.
Before last year, lots of Electrify Expo visitors were well-versed in the EV market. That's changing.
"About eight to 12 months ago, there was a new demographic coming out to our festival who couldn't talk shop," Birtwell said. "They didn't understand the lingo, they were just coming to see if the whole electric thing was right for them, and that's the whole purpose of our festival."